World News by Wild Rose

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will launch yuan-denominated gold futures early next year, while the city’s de facto central bank plans to introduce more yuan products and platforms to support the diversification and digitalisation of the currency’s internationalisation, speakers at a banking summit said on Wednesday. “We have recently reactivated our gold contract in the US dollar. But in the future, perhaps sometime early next year, we will be coming up with a...

The rivalry between Hong Kong and Singapore to attract global talent is heating up again. Bloomberg's Venus Feng and Cindy Wang size up the merits of the Asian finance hubs. (Source: Bloomberg)

Property firm New World Development Co. is in talks to sell its 50% stake in a Hong Kong hotel to Singapore’s UOL Group Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

Four companies are lining up to raise as much as a combined HK$14.4 billion ($1.8 billion) in Hong Kong listings, all set to begin trading on Sept. 29.

Mainland China’s stock exchanges have stepped up lobbying of companies and regulators to prioritise domestic listings after Hong Kong stole their thunder in fundraising activities in recent years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The domestic exchanges recently met representatives of some mainland companies planning Hong Kong listings, especially first-time issuers and firms in sectors supported by national policies, a source said. “Exchanges emphasised the benefits of listing...

Competition between mainland China and Hong Kong for hi-tech initial public offerings presents emerging technology firms with a dual-track strategic choice rather than a zero-sum battle, according to an executive at a national cross-border innovation platform. “There is naturally a degree of competition,” Lu Peng, general manager of Beijing-based Zhongguancun International, said in an interview on Thursday, referring to how tech firms select their primary listing venue. “However, the two markets...

Hong Kong firms will benefit from expanded non-discriminatory treatment and investment guarantees in 10 Asean states after a protocol amending an investment agreement with the bloc was signed on Sunday. The protocol was signed in Manila – where Asean economic ministers are meeting – ahead of dedicated trade consultations between Hong Kong and the bloc. Undersecretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bernard Chan Pak-li signed the protocol for Hong Kong, alongside Philippine Trade Secretary...

Talent attracted to Hong Kong under various admission schemes could add about 1.2 per cent to the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year, according to the city leader, who said more than half of those reaching the three-year mark were willing to stay. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Friday the government had attracted more than 300,000 people through its talent measures, with around 20 per cent from places outside mainland China. “These talent will create an extra GDP of probably...

At the heart of Hong Kong’s first five-year plan lies the Northern Metropolis – a massive tract of land spanning roughly a third of our entire city. Much ink has been spilled over what this project represents and why it matters, but if I had to summarise it in a single sentence, I would call it the “Shenzhen of Hong Kong”. To me, Shenzhen stands as the most miraculous growth story on Earth. Forty-eight years ago, it was a sleepy fishing village with a single muddy main road and just tens of...

Hong Kong’s plan to raise its gold holdings will further cement the city’s status as an international financial centre, with the possibility of building vaults in the Northern Metropolis megadevelopment, according to authorities. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Thursday the city was under “no pressure” to raise interest rates following a US rate hike, but stressed authorities would “keep a close watch” on the situation. Speaking at a conference the day after the policy address...

Hong Kong, Asia’s leading hub for bond underwriting for more than a decade, is making the most of a record flurry of offshore yuan debt issuance as competition for fixed-income business across financial centers intensifies.

Kher Sheng Lee, MD and APAC Co-Head at the Alternative Investment Management Association, says his industry group looks forward to more accommodative measures that will help the industry expand in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)

Raymond Yeung, Chief Greater China Economist at ANZ, discusses Hong Kong's move to create its own five-year planning blueprint on "Bloomberg: The China Show." (Source: Bloomberg)

Southeast Asian investors have emerged as the largest non-local buyers of Hong Kong commercial property, led by Singapore-based capital, according to Savills. As of Tuesday, local and non-local investors – including those from mainland China – were behind an estimated HK$30.36 billion (US$3.87 billion) in transactions involving commercial property deals above HK$50 million in Hong Kong so far this year, data compiled by the property consultancy showed. Southeast Asian investors contributed...

Securities regulators in Hong Kong and mainland China are doubling down on efforts to raise the quality of Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPOs), which could slow the flow of new listings but would not reduce underlying demand, according to analysts. In an unusual move, the China Securities Regulatory Commission recently asked nine mainland companies, which had already been pre-approved for listings, to provide supplementary materials detailing fund usage, shareholding structures and pending...

In any conversation about Hong Kong’s future, one question often emerges: when will the city pivot away from national security and back to economic development? To most, Hong Kong is fundamentally a commercial hub. After the turmoil of 2019, most reasonable people agreed that restoring public order was imperative. Today, the orchestrators of that unrest and the radicals are largely imprisoned or have fled. While occasional flare-ups and various forms of “soft resistance” persist, society at...

Hong Kong’s first leader Tung Chee-hwa, who died last week, has been remembered by former colleagues for his foresight in developing technology and actively engaging with mainland China to boost the city’s economic development during his tenure. Political heavyweights praised the former chief executive for being able to foresee developmental trends before others could, citing Tung’s decisions to establish Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. “He proposed developing Cyberport...

China’s buoyant stock market lifted brokers’ earnings in the first half, while Hong Kong saw continued growth in retirement assets. Beyond China, a strengthening yen and Washington’s Treasury buy-back programme highlighted shifting dynamics in global currency and bond markets. Here are some of the figures that have drawn the most market attention this week. Chinese brokerage revenue jumps more than 50 per cent Chinese brokerages saw revenue from their core business rise by more than 50 per cent...

Kazakhstan’s businesses should prioritise long-term fundraising ambitions rather than quick wins in the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets, the managing director of the Central Asian country’s sovereign wealth fund has said. Saltanat Satzhan, managing director for development and privatisation at sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, said she also aimed to list state-owned rail operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) in Hong Kong by the end of the year. KTZ, wholly owned by the government...

Hong Kong’s home prices will end the year 15 per cent higher than a year earlier, but still 16 per cent below their high-water mark in 2021, according to local property agency Midland Realty. Underpinning the positive forecast, the city’s banks were not likely to follow an increase in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve if one occurred this year, executives from the agency said at a press conference on Thursday. Dave Ma Tai-yeung, CEO of Midland (Residential), said that as the market...

Mainland Chinese have paid tribute to Hong Kong’s first chief executive, the late Tung Chee-hwa, for introducing a solo-travel scheme more than two decades ago that opened the city to millions of travellers and created indelible memories for middle-class families. The Individual Visit Scheme has grown from a handful of cities in Guangdong province in 2003 to its current 59 spanning the country as far west as Urumqi in Xinjiang, contributing to a more than fivefold increase in the number of...

PT Amman Mineral Internasional, one of Indonesia’s biggest copper and gold producers, has picked banks for a listing in Hong Kong that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

A 177% debut surge on Wednesday by Excelland Robotics Wuxi Co. is putting a spotlight on Hong Kong’s rules for allocating shares in initial public offerings after the listing left almost 94% of the shares in institutional hands despite strong demand from retail investors.

Urgent priorities for advancing China’s philanthropy sector include fostering a favourable legal environment and overhauling the nation’s social service industry, according to leading policy experts at a forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Mainland charitable organisations could learn from Hong Kong’s experience to increase their professional expertise, while the Greater Bay Area city cluster plan could be leveraged as a catalyst to boost the sector, they said. The panel discussion – part of the Hong...

Hong Kong’s first university-led wealth management academy was launched on Tuesday, as the city’s rapidly expanding private-wealth industry competes for professionals capable of serving increasingly sophisticated and international clients. The Wealth Management Academy, established by The University of Hong Kong Business School, aims to bring together policymakers, financial institutions and academics to train professionals for the wealth management, asset management and family-office...

Sales of non-exchange-traded investment products in Hong Kong surged to a record HK$9.9 trillion (US$1.3 trillion) in 2025, marking a 63 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the latest joint survey by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). A significant expansion in market participation drove the record-breaking performance. The number of investors completing at least one transaction rose 33 per cent to a record at more than 1.6 million,...

When Cathay Pacific Airways announced direct flights to Almaty starting next January, the significance went beyond adding another destination. The service will be Cathay Pacific’s first to Central Asia and the only non-stop passenger connection between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. Another announcement pointed to Hong Kong’s growing aviation reach from a different direction. Qatar Airways Cargo relocated its regional office to Hong Kong and agreed with the Airport Authority to increase frequencies...

PT Merdeka Battery Materials is considering a sale of depositary receipts in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially following other Indonesian miners looking to raise capital in the city.

Philanthropic giving in nine Asian jurisdictions is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion over the next decade, while corporate contributions play a larger role in Hong Kong than in many regional peers, according to a new report released at a Jockey Club forum. The Commission on Asian Philanthropy released its interim report on Monday, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust revealed in a separate report that it had contributed around 1.8 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in...

Hong Kong’s top financial regulators have urged local banks to make greater use of the city’s growing pool of offshore yuan liquidity, while also flagging the need to prepare for a coming wave of autonomous AI systems used in the financial sector. Speaking at the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) Distinguished Speaker Luncheon, Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), called on lenders to leverage their international networks to expand the Chinese...